MONKTON FARLEIGH
The course of the Roman road to Bath and of
Wansdyke forms the northern boundary of Monkton
Farleigh, where it adjoins the parish of Box. The land
rises from a height of about 300 ft. in the east to about
700 ft. on Bathford Hill in the west. There is woodland in the south-west corner of the parish and in small
clumps at several other places. Adjoining the manor
house in the centre of the parish there is a park and a
fine avenue of elms. (fn. 1) The road from Bradford-on-Avon to Bath passes through Farleigh Wick, a hamlet
in the south of the parish.
The main centre of population is the village of
Monkton Farleigh, which is situated on high ground in
the centre of the parish 4 miles north-west of Bradford
and 5½ miles east of Bath. A 'hamlet' called 'Woxehall'
or 'Wyxhale' formed part of the manor in 1294. It has
now disappeared. (fn. 2)
The 'Kings Arms' has been rebuilt and remodelled,
but retains an early-16th-century doorway with a 17th-century two-story porch with original windows and a
corresponding projection at the back with a circular
stair. Part of the brewhouse remains, with a stone
inscribed W.K. 1625.
Hobhouse's estimate of 70 as the Domesday population of the parish seems reasonable. (fn. 3) In 1294 the
manor of Farleigh was stated to include the families of
6 free tenants, 3 villeins, and 21 'coterelli', as well as
the monks and their servants. (fn. 4) The total population
can hardly have been more than 200.
In 1645–6 Monkton Farleigh was one of the townships compelled to contribute to the support of the
Parliamentary garrison of Chalfield. The area placed
under contribution included the hundreds of Bradford,
Melksham, Chippenham, Malmesbury, Calne, and
North Damerham, and from this area Monkton Farleigh's contribution of bacon was easily the largest. (fn. 5)
Daniel Webb of Monkton Farleigh was one of the
ringleaders of a weavers' riot at Bradford in 1726. (fn. 6) His
house had been searched five years before on suspicion
that he was storing arms for use in a Jacobite rising. (fn. 7)
Between 1700 and 1713 most of the working population of the parish was agricultural, but there were also
clothiers, weavers, maltsters, and a fiddler. During the
19th century extensive stone-quarrying was carried on
in the parish. In 1881, according to Hobhouse, nearly
half the labourers were quarrymen. (fn. 8) He mentions the
existence of a benefit club and a clothing club, maintained by popular subscription, and a fortnightly
offertory for the relief of the poor, which was administered by the rector. In 1881 the rateable value of the
parish was £3,955; the poor rate was at about 2s. in
the pound and the highway rate at 9d. to 1s. (fn. 9) There
was also a voluntary church rate of 2d. in the pound. (fn. 10)
A poorhouse existed at Farleigh early in the 19th
century, and Hobhouse had spoken to an old inhabitant
of the parish who had been brought up there with 'her
father, mother and five or six children and often as
many as three families besides'. (fn. 11)
Cock-fighting was carried on at Farleigh in the 17th
century. On 7 March 1656 John Allambrigge the
rector noted in the parish register 'Christopher Morris
his Cocke was killed by John Allambrigge his Cocke'. (fn. 12)
Early in the 19th century the lessee of the manor kept
harriers and greyhounds. In the middle of that century
there was an annual club feast, a school feast given to
the children by the rector, and a village concert and
Christmas tree 'managed by the manor house'. The
custom common elsewhere under the name of 'Skimmington' was still practised in Farleigh at that time. (fn. 13)
Manor
The manor of MONKTON FARLEIGH
probably belonged in 1001 to Alfgar, whose
landmark there was mentioned in a charter
of King Aethelred. (fn. 14) At the time of the Domesday
Survey it was held by Brictric, and of him by his
brother. (fn. 15) Like other manors of Brictric, Farleigh
passed to the Bohun family. Humphrey de Bohun II
(d. 1131) evidently held it about 1120 when he announced in a charter his intention of bestowing the
church of Farleigh upon the monks of a priory to be
established there. (fn. 16) His son Humphrey de Bohun III
later gave or confirmed the manor of Farleigh to the
priory. (fn. 17) One hide of land, held by William de Lisle,
was excepted from the grant. (fn. 18) Humphrey retained
the overlordship of the manor, which was held of his
heirs in free alms by the priors. (fn. 19) By virtue of the overlordship the earls of Hereford held courts at Farleigh
every month. (fn. 20) The last Bohun earl died in 1373, and
the court (worth 100s.) was granted to the king's son
Thomas of Woodstock, who had married Eleanor
Bohun, one of the coheirs of her father. (fn. 21) In 1421
Anne, Countess of Stafford, daughter and heir of
Eleanor Bohun and Thomas of Woodstock, concluded
an agreement with the king whereby the former Bohun
inheritance was divided between them. The court of
Monkton Farleigh (worth 13s. 4d.) was assigned to
the king's purparty, and in 1422 was granted by
Henry VI as dower to his mother Katherine. (fn. 22)
Other land at Farleigh was given to the priory at
different times by various donors. In 1397 Thomas de
Hungerford and John Marreys granted the reversion
of messuages and lands in Farleigh and Farleigh Wick,
and Thomas Gore released to the priory all his estate in
Farleigh Wick. (fn. 23)
The Prior of Farleigh was obliged to do suit at the
court of the hundred of Bradford for this and other
manors until 1227 when the Abbess of Shaftesbury
released him from the obligation in exchange for a
money payment. (fn. 24) The priors held a court at Farleigh
and claimed gallows and the assise of bread and ale. (fn. 25)
They also enjoyed free warren by charter of Henry
III. (fn. 26) In 1293–4 Farleigh was in the hands of the king
owing to the French war, and a survey of the manor
was made (see below—Agriculture). (fn. 27) The manor
was again in the king's hands in 1324–5, (fn. 28) and must
have been again taken in hand shortly before 1409–10,
for in that year it was found by inquisition that the
priory had been in the custody of Sir Walter Hungerford and William Stourton. (fn. 29)
In 1536 the manor was granted to Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, later Earl of Hertford
(1537) and Duke of Somerset (1547). (fn. 30) In 1545
Hertford transferred it to John Capon, Bishop of
Salisbury. (fn. 31) The bishop leased the manor in 1548 to
Henry Britton or Breton, for ninety-nine years. (fn. 32) Early
in the reign of Elizabeth, Henry Britton was sued in
Chancery for a customary tenement in the manor. (fn. 33)
In 1575 Henry's son George Britton was holding the
manor, and in the same year the Bishop of Salisbury
conveyed the lordship of Farleigh to the queen for
eighty years, on condition that when the bishop or any
of his successors wished 'to lie and abide at the said
(manor) house they may for three months together in
every year during the said term possess and enjoy one
hall, one parlour, one buttery and one pantry, one
cellar or kitchen, one larder, one stable, and ten convenient lodging chambers, and as much fuel as shall be
necessary'. (fn. 34) Later in 1575 the queen transferred the
lease of the manor to Thomas Smith, one of the clerks
'of the greencloth' of her household. (fn. 35) The Brittons
retained their tenancy of the manor until 1638, but in
1582 sublet the manor house to William Bromfield, of
Lewisham (Kent), and before 1606 to the Cornwallis
family. Between 1638 and 1654 the tenancy of the
manor, under the Bishop of Salisbury, was held by the
Cornwallises and William Whitwell. The lease to
Thomas Cornwallis, of Wandsworth, was granted in
1638 for twenty-one years. (fn. 36)
Monkton Farleigh was sequestrated under the
Commonwealth and was granted in 1648 to William
Bridges of Gray's Inn, Matthew Bridges, Brooke
Bridges, and Francis Bridges. (fn. 37) In 1653 the above
grantees conveyed the manor to James Mayo and
Francis Alkin. (fn. 38) From 1654 the sitting tenant was
William Watson, who died in 1695. (fn. 39) At the Restoration the manor was restored to the bishop and after
Watson's death was held on lease by Daniel Webb of
Seend from 1695 to 1731. (fn. 40) John Thresher was
lessee from 1731 to 1737. Daniel Webb's daughter
Mary had married Sir Edward Seymour of Maiden
Bradley, and in 1737 Sir Edward bought the lease of
Farleigh. (fn. 41) He became 8th Duke of Somerset in 1750,
and on his death in 1757 the manor passed to his
second son, Webb Seymour, who became 10th Duke
in 1792, and died in the following year. (fn. 42) The lease
was renewed in favour of Anna Maria, relict of the
10th Duke, who lived at Monkton Farleigh at least
from 1799 until her death in 1802. (fn. 43) She was succeeded as lessee by William Cass, of Poultry, London
(1805–12). (fn. 44) In 1812 the lease was acquired by
John son of Richard Long of Rood Ashton, on whose
death in 1833 it passed to his son John. The Longs
retained the lease until 1842, when it passed to Wade
Browne, who was responsible for many improvements
in the parish. (fn. 45) After his death in 1851 Mrs. Wade
Browne held the reversion of the lease and sublet to
Edward Pennefather and the Revd. E. R. Eardly
Wilmot. Between 1864 and 1870 the lessee was
H. B. Caldwell. (fn. 46) On his death the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed the manor into a freehold estate, and
the part of it attached to the manor house, along with
the house itself was sold in 1873 to Sir Charles Hobhouse, bt. (fn. 47) In 1882 the ownership of most of the
parish was held by Sir Charles, Henry Spackman, and
Henry Hancock. (fn. 48) In 1939 the principal landowners
were Lady Hobhouse, Capt. E. C. Pinckney, and
Major H. Whitehead. (fn. 49)
The Wiltshire County Record Office has records relating to Monkton Farleigh, 1575–1839.
Monkton Farleigh manor is a large house of irregular
plan. The earliest part of the building, dating from the
16th century, is on the west, built of rubble; all the
mullioned windows have been renewed, and built in
above their heads are carved 12th- and 13th-century
fragments from the adjoining monastic site. Additions
were made in the 17th century, and in the first half of
the 18th century extensive additions were made on the
east side and the earlier buildings remodelled by Wood
of Bath. A modern wing has been added to the north
end of the earlier building.
Internally the principal rooms have 19th-century
chimney pieces and decorations. One room in the
earlier building has a ceiling of moulded oak timbers
forming square panels carved at the junctions, the
panels plastered. It had been ceiled with plaster in the
18th century and was uncovered in 1919, which date
with initials has been carved on the centre beam.
Church
The advowson of Monkton Farleigh
was annexed to the manor and was held by
the priory of Farleigh. During the 14th
century, however, when the property of alien priories
was often in the hands of the king owing to the French
wars, the rights of patronage were usually exercised by
the Crown. Even when the prior did institute a rector
his action might be quashed: in 1334 the king presented
to the rectory 'because of the unsuitability of the parson
of the Prior of Farleigh'. (fn. 50)
The advowson was granted with the manor in 1536
to Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, and passed
from him to the Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 51) The bishop
evidently leased the advowson to Henry Britton in
1548, for in 1606 Lady Catherine Cornwallis presented by grant of Henry Britton and his son George. (fn. 52)
The king presented in 1639 and 1641. (fn. 53) This may
have been due to the fact that John Davenant, Bishop
of Salisbury (1621–41), fell into disgrace in 1631
owing to his Calvinism. (fn. 54) When the lease of the manor
was granted in 1661 to William Watson the patronage
was reserved to the bishop, who thereafter always
presented.
In 1291 the value of the church of Farleigh was
stated to be £5. (fn. 55) In 1341 the rector held a messuage
and garden and 26 acres of glebe land and pasture,
worth 26s. 8d. The tithes were worth 20s. The
ninths of corn, wool, and lambs in the parish belonging
to the rectory were worth 53s. 4d. (fn. 56) The church of
Farleigh was valued at 100s. in 1428. (fn. 57) The value in
1535 was £8. 1s. 2d. of which 1s. was paid annually to
the Prior of Farleigh and 9s. 11d. in dues to the archdeacon. (fn. 58)
In 1608 the glebe consisted of 16 acres of pasture
and 8 acres of arable in addition to the rectory house
and grounds. According to the terrier of 1625 the
glebe then included 16 acres and 5 yardlands. In 1671
there were said to be 35½ acres of glebe of which 5 were
copse and 10 were 'tenant acres'. In 1705 the glebe
was estimated at 29½ acres and the rector was said to
have the right to pasture 16 sheep in one of the common
fields and 30 in the other when the fields lay fallow. (fn. 59)
It was added that the greater part of the parish was the
bishop's land and that none of his demesnes paid tithe
to the rector but only an annual rent to the bishop.
The copyholds and leaseholds paid all sorts of tithes to
the rector except those of wood, and also all offerings,
oblations, and mortuaries. Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury,
had given an augmentation of £10 a year to the church. (fn. 60)
Tithe was commuted in 1847, when the glebe acreage
was found to be 25. (fn. 61)
The church of ST. PETER consists of a chancel,
nave, west tower, north porch, and vestry. (fn. 61a) The
earliest part is the late-12th-century north door, which
is round-headed and decorated with zigzag moulding.
The inner order of the arch has been cut away, probably
in 1874, to enable the four-centred arch to be inserted.
The tower is probably of the 13 th century. Apart from
these features the church was rebuilt in successive
stages in 1844 and 1874. On the south side of the
chancel there is a one-story rectangular addition, built
as a Sunday school in 1829 and now used as a vestry.
On either side of the tower arch there is a dado of
16th-century linenfold panelling. The early-17thcentury octagonal pulpit is of carved oak and is
mounted on a modern stone stem. The late-17thcentury altar table has turned legs and carved top
rails. There are a number of 18th-century wall
memorials, one of the 16th century to William
Bromfield (d. 1582), and one of the 17th century to
Sarah Grant (d. 1602).
Fragments only of the parish registers between 1570
and 1790 have been preserved and are collected
together in one book. The registers for marriages
begin in 1756, those for burials and baptisms in
1792. (fn. 62)
The Commissioners of Edward VI left the church of
Monkton Farleigh 8 oz. of silver and took 3 oz. for the
king. The parish now has 2 chalices, a paten, an alms
dish, all of plated metal and presented in 1842 by
Wade Browne. (fn. 63)
In 1553 there were three bells. Of the three bells
that exist today, the first was cast in 1623 and recast in
1888, the second was cast in 1783, and the third was
cast in 1724. (fn. 64)
Nonconformity
In 1582 Monkton Farleigh
was described as 'a place that
commonly harboreth suspected
persons' (i.e. Papists). In a letter to the Sheriff of
Wiltshire the Privy Council gave instructions that
search was to be made at Farleigh for two such persons—Mrs. Long and a Mr. Welles, a schoolmaster. (fn. 65)
A slightly earlier Papist connected with the parish was
Thomas Harding, D.D. (1516–72) divine and controversialist who in 1564 was ordered to live within
16 miles of Monkton Farleigh or within 20 miles of
Tollerwhelme in Dorset. (fn. 66)
In 1742 the dwelling-house of Thomas Harris of
Monkton Farleigh was licensed as a meeting-place for
Presbyterians. (fn. 67) There are no other evidences of Nonconformity in Monkton Farleigh.
Agriculture
In 1291 the manor was valued
at £15. 3s. 4d. (fn. 68) In 1293–4 it
was valued at £24. 11s. 8½d., and
its stock and implements at £86. 1s. There were 772
acres of arable, 36½ acres of pasture, and 38 acres of
wood. A courtyard, garden, and dovecot were worth
£1, and pleas and perquisites of court were valued at
½ mark. (fn. 69) The manor was valued at £27. 13s. 10d. in
1535. (fn. 70) The evidence of four glebe terriers between
1608 and 1705 suggests that in the 17th century there
were two open fields. These were called Southfield and
Northfield in 1608, and Upper Field and Lower Field
in 1671 and 1705. In 1625 the fields were known as
Upper Westfield and Lowerfields. A reference to
Inox in 1625 and later terriers suggests that inclosure
of a kind had begun well before the 17th century. (fn. 71)
No inclosure award has been traced.
In 1801 the crop acreages were: wheat 218, barley
56, oats 82, potatoes 8, peas 32, beans 16, turnips and
rape 24. (fn. 72)
Schools
In 1829 Thomas Burgess, Bishop of
Salisbury, built a room attached to the
church (see above) for use as a Sunday
school. (fn. 73) During the incumbency of Edward Brown
(1842–63) a night school was held in this room during
four winter months, the attendance being 15–20. (fn. 74) The
age of the pupils was 14–24 and each paid 2s. 6d. in
advance. In 1833 it was reported that there were three
day schools kept by women at Farleigh, in which 18
children were educated at the expense of their parents. (fn. 75)
One of these schools was evidently held in the room
built by the bishop. (fn. 76) At the same date there was a
boarding school. (fn. 77) In 1845–6 Wade Browne (lessee of
the manor) established a school for boys and girls, with
a master and mistress. On the death of the master the
rector assumed responsibility for the boys' school while
Wade Browne maintained the girls, whom he caused
to wear red cloaks, blue gowns, and white aprons and
collars. In 1858 it was stated that the rector was supporting the school built by Bishop Burgess, and that it
was attended by 40 boys. A further 30 children at this
date were taught 'by the lady of the manor' in a room
built at her expense. (fn. 78) This girls' school was kept up
after Wade Browne's death by means of a legacy of £35
administered by his relict. (fn. 79) The legacy was conditional upon the continuance of the family in the manor
and lapsed when they left. (fn. 80) The school, however, was
kept running until 1870. A school trust was then
created, and a site conveyed to the rector with the permission of the bishop. (fn. 81) A building grant of £155 was
obtained from the State and the large sum of £524. 11s.
8d. raised locally. (fn. 82) The actual cost of building was
£626. (fn. 83) In 1881 the average attendance at the
National school was 67. (fn. 84) The 'schoolpence' paid by
the children amounted to about £14, £35 was raised
by voluntary subscription, and the remaining £50 was
paid by the Government. The main items of expenditure were the salaries of the mistress £55, of the pupil
teacher £10, and the paid monitor £6. (fn. 85) Stationery
and books cost £5, fuel and light £1. 11s. (fn. 86) A new
school was built in 1886 with accommodation for 90
and a teacher's house. (fn. 87) The school was in union with
the National Society. The accommodation was computed at 118 in 1906, when the average attendance
was 58. (fn. 88) It was reassessed at 94 in 1910 and has remained unchanged. (fn. 89) With the removal of the senior
children in 1930 the school became a junior mixed and
infant school. (fn. 90) Average attendance in July 1950 was
48. (fn. 91) There are three teachers.
Charity
Joseph Blinman, by his will proved
1843, bequeathed £300 to remain a
perpetual fund in trust, the interest to be
applied to the purchase of coal for the relief of the
deserving poor, and to be distributed annually on St.
Thomas's Day. The same testator also bequeathed
£250 as a perpetual fund, the interest to be distributed
in cash to forty deserving poor persons of the parish.
The legacies were invested in £585. 19s. 4d. Consols,
which sum was in 1877 transferred to the Official
Trustees of Charitable Funds. (fn. 92)